Tools for applying self-adhesive surface covering material

ABSTRACT

A pair of manually operated tools for holding and pressing self-adhesive surface covering material into adhesive contact with a flat surface. One tool includes a blade having a long, straight, thin edge, slightly curved about its longitudinal axis, and is employed to press self-adhesive surface covering material into adhesive contact with a flat surface. The corners of the blade at the ends of the edge may be rounded for ordinary use, or square for use in corners. An extendable sharp point is provided for puncturing the covering material to permit the escape of air trapped thereunder. The other tool includes a long, straight edge bent not more than 90 degrees and disposed to be adhered to by the free end of the surface covering material, so that the unapplied portion of such material may be supported in near-perpendicular extension from such flat surface while the material is being presses into contact with the surface by the first tool.

Jul 4, 1972 D. L. BENNETT 3,674,610

TOOLS FOR APPLYING SELF-ADHESIVE SURFACE COVERING MATERIAL Filed April14. 1969 INVENTOR DONALD L. BENNETT ATTORNEY United States Patent Office3,674,610 Patented July 4, 1972 3,674,610 v TOOLS FOR APPLYINGSELF-ADHESIVE SURFACE COVERING MATERIAL Donald L. Bennett, 5501Granville, Flint,'Mich.' 48505 Filed Apr. 14, 1969, Ser. No. 815,860Int. Cl. A47] 17/06; 13321! 31/20 us. Cl. 156-579 7 7 Clainis ABSTRACTOF THE DISCLOSURE I 'Axpair of manually operated 'tools for holding andpressing self-adhesive surface covering material into adhesive contactwith a flat surface. One tool includes a blade having a'long,'straight,thin edge, slightly curved about its longitudinal axis, and is employedto press selfadhesive surface covering material into adhesive contactwith a flat surface. The corners of the blade at the ends of the edgemay be rounded for ordinary use,or square for use in corners. Anextendable sharp point is provided for puncturing the covering materialto permit the escape of air trapped thereunder. The other tool includesa long, straight edge bent not more than 90 and disposed to be adheredto by the free end of the surface covering mate rial, so that theunapplied portion of such material may be supported innear-perpendicular extension from such flat surface while the materialis being pressed into contact with the surface by the first tool.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION an adhesive undercoating to which atemporary backing,

customarily of waxed paper, is adhered. When the backing is removedfromthe underside of the covering material, the material may be appliedto a wall, table, cabinet, or other flat surface by pressing the exposedadhesive side of the material against the surface to be covered,

Several difiiculties, however, have been heretofore encountered in theapplication of such surface covering .material. The adhesiveundercoating of the material adheres to the fingers of the operator andto most other objects which it may accidentally touch duringapplication. In particular, one portion of the adhesive undercoatingwill adhere to another portion thereof with a tenacity which makes italmost impossible to separate the two without stretching and deformingthe surface covering material itself. Another problem frequentlyencountered is the entrapment of air in bubble-like pockets between thesurface covering material and the surface being covered thereby. Suchbubbles separate the surface covering material from the surface beingcovered, prevent adhesion of the axis and employed in a particularmanner hereinafter taught to press the surface covering material intoadhesive contact with the surface to be covered while simultaneouslypreventing air from being trapped thereunder. The other tool is disposedto be adhered to by the free end of the covering material and tocooperate with the first tool by supporting the unapplied portion ofsuch material in a near-perpendicular extension from such surface whilethe material is being pressed into contact with the surface by the firsttool. The near-right angle formed by the covering material, the apex ofwhich angle constantly coincides with and is being pressed into contactwith such surface to be covered, prevents air from being entrapped bythe covering, material as it adheres to the surface.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING The description refers to the accompanyingdrawings in which like reference characters refer to like partsthroughout the several views, and in which:

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing the preferred embodiment of a smoothingtool;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the blade of a smoothing tool disengaged from ablade holder;

FIG. 3 is an end view from the left of the smoothing tool of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a plan view of a sliding block, supporting a sharp point;

material thereto, and tend to stretch and distort the cover- SUMMARY OFINVENTION The invention overcomes the above disadvantages by providingtwo tools, one of which includes a blade having a long, thin edgeslightly curved about its longitudinal FIG. 5 is a plan view of abracket, stop, and sheath for slidingly receiving the article of FIG. 4in either a sheathed of unsheathed position;

FIG. 6 is a plan view of a covering material supporting tool;

FIG. 7 is an end view from the left of the tool of FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a plan view of a modified form of supporting tool;

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the supporting tool and applicator toolof my invention cooperatively employed in use.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now to the drawings,as best shown in FIG. 1 I provide an applicator tool generally indicatedat 10. 'A blade "holder 12 is formed from a single piece ofsubstantially inflexible material, such as aluminum, galvanized iron, orpolystyrene, and is folded once upon itself to form opposed wallsdefining a deep pocket therein extending the entire length thereof, asbest shown at 14. A thin elongated blade 16 of similar material isprovided. Blade 16 is formed with a slight curvature about itslongitudinal axis, as best shown in FIG. 3. The leading or operativeedge 18 of blade 16 is perfectly straight, and is preferably providedwith rounded end corners 20, 20, to avoid scraping the surface to whichthe surface covering material is to be applied. The opposite edge 22 ofblade 16 in the preferred embodiment of the invention is also perfectlystraight, but is provided with square, rather than round, corners 24,24, for a purpose more particularly hereinafter described. As best shownin FIG. 3, either edge 22 or edge 18 of blade 16 may be manuallyinserted into pocket 14 of holder 12, whereby the curvature of the bladeeffects frictional retention of the blade in the holder pocket. Holder12 may then be grasped manually by the operator when the blade is inuse.

I also provide for use in combination with my applicator tool 10 a sharppoint 26, consisting of a needle embedded in one end of a sliding block28, as best shown in FIG. 4. A bracket 29 having a pair of flanges 30,30 arranged to extend into a pair of longitudinal grooves 31, 31 in thesides of sliding block 28 whereby to slidingly receive the block, iscemented or otherwise supported upon holder 12 near one end thereof, asbest shown in FIGS. 1 and 5. Bracket 29 bears a stop 32 at its medialend, and an aperture 34 is provided in the stop to receive point 26 whenblock 28 is fully received within the bracket with the point extendingin the medial direction. A sheath 36, preferably formed from Styrofoam,rubber, cork, or similar material, is cemented to stop 32, to sheathpoint 26 when the point is not deployed for use. It should beparticularly noted that sliding block 28 is adapted to be slidinglyreceived by bracket 30 with point 26 either directed toward aperture 34and sheath 36, whereby it may be sheathed, or, in the alternative, withthe point directed away from the stop and sheath, in which latter theoperator, and the opposing longitudinal edge 42 is bent upward. In thepreferred embodiment of the invention, edge 42 is bent at approximatelya 90 angle, as best shown in FIG. 7. In a modified form of theinvention, best shown in FIG. 8, edge 42 is bent at an angle of lessthan 90 from the plane of handle portion 40.

In use, a strip of conventional self-adhesive surface covering material46 is first laid face downward upon a table, floor, or other flatsurface, and the waxed paper backing material peeled back from one endthereof. The outer surface of edge 42 of holder tool 38 is then placedagainst the adhesive undersurface of the covering material and thematerial pressed into adhesive contact therea with. Handle 40 of holder38 is then grasped in one hand by the operator, while with the otherhand he strips the remainder of the backing material from the coveringmaterial. It should be noted that holder 38 keeps the covering materialunder uniform tension and in a flat position, from which it cannot rollup upon and adhere to itself, while the backing material is beingremoved.

The surface covering material, with the aid of holder 38 supporting theend thereof last to be applied, is then positioned adjacent the surfacewhich it is to cover, such as a wall 44, with the adhesive undercoatthereof facing such surface. The lower edge of the surface coveringmaterial is then pressed manually against the surface to be covered atthe desired starting point. Applicator tool 10 is then grasped in theoperators free hand and leading edge 18 pressed against the surfacecovering material with the curve of blade 16 extending in the directiontoward which the material is to be applied.

Tool 38, grasped in the other hand of the operator, is then drawn awayfrom the surface to be covered, placing the unapplied portion of thecovering material under slight tension and extending in anear-perpendicular position from the surface. It will be noted that theapplied and unapplied portions of the covering material are now arrangedat a right angle by the cooperative action of tools 10 and 38, with edge18 of applicator tool 10 pressing the apex thereof against the surface,such as wall 44, as best shown in FIG. 9. Applicator tool 10 is thenslowly moved upward, as best shown in FIG. 9, the leading edge 18thereof constantly pressing the covering material into adhesive contactwith the surface to which it is to be adhered, such as wall 44. Thestraight, thin edge 18 of applicator 10 constantly maintains thecovering material in intimate contact with the surface to which it is tobe adhered along a line of pressure at the apex of the angle, and theunapplied portion of the covering material, being held away from thesurface by holder tool 38, is prevented from adhering to the surfaceexcept at the line of pressure exerted by edge 18. Not only is air thusprevented from getting under and 4 being trapped by the coveringmaterial as it is applied, but edge 18, with the assistance of thecurvature of blade 16, actually forces forwardly and squeezes out fromunder the covering material any tiny pockets of air which may have beentrapped thereunder.

Should any small pockets of air nonetheless be found accidentallytrapped between the covering material and the surface after applicationof the covering material, it is not necessary to remove the coveringmaterial to deflate such. Sliding block 28 is removed from bracket 29and replaced therein in reverse position, with sharp point 26 deployedand extending outwardly beyond the end of holder 10. Blade holder, 10may then be grasped at its opposite end by the operator and point 26utilized to pierce the surface of the covering material over the airpocket, thereby permitting the air to escape therefrom. Leading edge 18of applicator 10 may then be used to press the covering material in thearea of the former air pocket against and into intimate adhesive contactwith the surface, working from the perimeter of the air pocket towardsthe tiny aperture pierced in the covering material by point 26, therebyforcing all of the air out of the pocket. a While I have describedapplicator tool 10 and particularly blade 16 thereof as being formed ofsubstantially inflexible material, it is to be understood that the bladeretains suflicient flexibility to conform to minor variations in thetexture of the surface, such as wall 44, to which the surface coveringmaterial is to be applied, while maintaining suflicient stiffness toprevent air bubbles from being trapped beneath the surface coveringmaterial during the application process.

Having described my invention, I claim:

1. A tool for applying self-adhesive surface covering materialcomprising an elongated strip of substantially inflexible material, saidstrip being slightly curved about its longitudinal axis, onelongitudinal edge of said strip being disposed to be grasped manually,the opposite longitudinal edge of said strip being straight, relativelythin, and disposed to press such surface covering material into adhesivecontact with a flat surface and simultaneously expel air fromthereunder, and a sharp point supported upon and extending from saidtool, and disposed to puncture said surface covering material to permitthe escape of air trapped beneath said material after applicationthereof.

2. The construction set forth in claim 1 including a sheath supportedupon said tool and arranged to sheath said sharp point when not in use.

3. The construction set forth in claim 1 including an elongated bladeholder having a deep, longitudinal fold therein, said one longitudinaledge of said strip being grippingly received within said fold.

4. The construction set forth in claim 3 wherein the corners of saidopposite longitudinal edge of said strip are rounded, and the corners ofsaid one longitudinal edge of said strip are square.

5. The construction set forth in claim 3 including a bracket supportedupon said blade holder near one 'end thereof, a reversible sliding blockadapted to be slidingly received by said bracket, said sharp point beingsupported upon and extending from one end of said sliding block,

a stop at the medial end of said bracket to limit movement of saidsliding block in the medial direction, said point extending beyond theend of said blade holder when said block is received within said bracketand the end of said block opposite said point rests against said stop,and sheathing means for sheathing said point when said block is receivedwithin said bracket and rests against said stop with said point directedin the medical direction.

6. A tool for'applying a covering to a surface comprising an elongatedblade curved about its longitudinal axis, and a blade holder havingopposed, straight walls defining a pocket in which one edge portion ofsaid blade is accommodated with the remainder of said blade extendingbeyond said blade holder, the curvature of said blade 2,450,385 9/1948Schurnock 15-235.4 elfecting frictional engagement of said edge portionof said 2,560,241 7/ 1951 Pangburn et al 156-577 blade with the walls ofsaid holder and frictional retention D. 191,952 12/1961 Whalen 15-235.4of said blade portion in said pocket. D. 202,654 10/1965 Carls D4923 7.The construction set forth in claim 6 wherein said 5 2,225,223 12/1940Johnson 15-105 blade is formed of a material which has properties of3,299,462 1/ 1967 Mathison 15105 stiffness and flexibility.

BENJAMIN A. BORCHELT, Primary Examiner References C'ted J. M. HANLEY,Assistant Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 10 38,044 3/1863 Howe 15-2314258,406 5/1882 Geist 156-576 D8-14; D4923; l5-105; 156-576 794,0567/1905 Stilwell 15-105

